Undersheriff says police shooting of Wonder Lake woman was justified

WONDER LAKE – A woman remains in intensive care recovering from a gunshot wound to the neck and two deputies were placed on paid leave as part of normal department procedure following the officer-involved shooting Sunday night.

Authorities said 53-year-old Elizabeth N. Kloss advanced on members of the McHenry County sheriff’s office, pointing an AK-47 style rifle at deputies. The weapon, belonging to the woman’s boyfriend, was not loaded.

Deputies fired four or five rounds from their service weapons, striking Kloss once in the neck. She was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where she remained in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The matter will be investigated by the Illinois State Police.

“It is my opinion that our deputies acted appropriately considering the circumstances they faced at that moment,” Undersheriff Andrew Zinke said Monday. “Use of force was justified in my opinion.”

An outside review by the State Police could take two to three weeks. No charges have been filed at this time.

Three sheriff’s deputies and a sergeant responded after 5 p.m. to the 7400 block of Boston Avenue in unincorporated Wonder Lake after being dispatched for a suicidal subject. No one else was home at the time.

Kloss, authorities said, made statements that she was suicidal and that she had a gun.

Upon arrival, deputies saw Kloss with a handgun, and attempted to get her to be taken for a mental health evaluation. Within 10 minutes, Kloss exited the home, with a different weapon that she raised and pointed at deputies, Zinke said.

Two of the responding deputies have been placed on paid leave. Their names are being withheld pending the investigation. Paid leave is standard protocol in officer-involved shootings.

Incidents like this are relatively rare, Zinke said. The last was in 2012 in Marengo. In that case, Edward P. Bolen pointed a gun at deputies and was shot at, though he avoided injury.

Bolen later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor resisting arrest and was sentenced to a year of probation.